ROME (Reuters) - Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Sunday the European Commission would not be happy with Italy's budget response on Tuesday, but that results of the country's fiscal policy would speak for themselves.
The Commission rejected Italy's 2019 budget last month, saying it flouted a previous commitment to lower the country's deficit. The EU gave Rome until Tuesday to present a revised version of the budget.
"I think they won't take it well, but we do not want to clash with (the EU), I would like them to let us work, results will then speak for themselves," Matteo Salvini, also leader of the ruling League party, told a group of students.
The contested expansionary budget raises the planned fiscal deficit to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and includes spending increases and tax cuts.
Economy Minister Giovanni Tria on Friday said Italy stood by the main pillars of its budget but Italian newspapers on Sunday reported that he was looking to revise downwards the budget estimate for economic growth next year to try to reach a deal with the EU Commission.
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti. Editing by Jane Merriman)
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